Thursday, June 28, 2012

Victoria Hospital Peds & Outpatient

Hello again!

I was doing so well at blogging every day until
yesterday.With my first paper due
tomorrow and the pressure of not sleeping/ getting up early to work all day I
needed a short break from blogging and journaling.

Today was my last day at Victoria hospital and was certainly
one of the more rewarding days.The
whole week I was torn between being annoyed over lack of internet and an essay
due combined with not being completely intrigued with the work at Victoria.I think that this may be because not
everything is such a shock to us anymore and I am more settled with working and
observing the doctors.However, I am
still extremely happy to be at these various facilities and am of course
learning so much.

A bit on yesterday—I worked in pediatrics and learned that
Victoria has one of the best pediatric facilities around bringing children from
all over the African continent to receive public care.The majority of cases were such heartbreakers
since many of the patients were children of drug/ alcohol abuser parents or
mothers with HIV who had defaulted on their medication.We observed a 6 week old baby boy whose
mother defaulted on her HIV medication—the child is extremely underweight and
HIV+ as well and will most likely not survive.Other children had been caught in domestic violence between the mother
and a boyfriend or were also HIV+.Besides the saddening cases that we observed we were also able to play
with the children who were a bit older and able to get out of their
cribs—Reddick was my favorite.Picture a
9 month old with a weave?She was beyond
adorable and doing well on her ART treatment.

Last night we went to the UCT library to get internet and
study though when we got there we were told we will never get internet while in
Cape Town since we aren’t full time students or semester abroad students.At first I was really upset but then realized
that I can pay for internet every once in a while and spend the rest of my
time, what little time I have, enjoying the mountains and exploring Cape
Town.So after a minor freak out I was
back on track and ready for a fresh new evening.I went on a great run with two of the girls
and then did a nice session of abs and squats.The best way to relax from a stressful day in Cape Town? If it’s a Wednesday
then definitely Stones for 2 for 1 specials.If anyone comes across Hunters Cider—get some.

So for today I was back at Victoria for the last day.I went in hoping to speak with the public
health specialist but she was not in the office so I spent my time at the
outpatient clinic with the head doctor Nasif.He is honestly one of the most amazing people I have come across thus
far in Cape Town and told us to stay in touch by both email and facebook and
that he has access to grants if we would like to come work for us in the
future!

The medical approach in South Africa is so different from
the medicine I have experienced in America—so much more holistic.Nasif spent so much time with each individual
patient examining both their ailments and their lifestyles/ stories.He told us that in order to truly understand
the patient and know how to treat them you must get to know them on a more
personal level and was surprised when we mentioned how short OPD visits were in
the U.S.

It was also really interesting to be treated with such
respect by both the doctors and patients—we were introduced as pre-med students
(most of them don’t really get the concept of public health) and were explained
the medical terms and how to read X-rays.

Some issues with the hospital that I encountered was the
lack of organization…again.I feel like
the patients were also waiting for the doctors to find charts or medication
lists or prescriptions.Also, one womens
chart was labeled as private but she was unemployed and unable to pay for her
medications.This lack of communication
was causing a huge issue with both her COPD and high blood pressure.

We spoke with one amazing woman who had recently started her
second marriage and was experiencing some hardships with her husband—according
to her he was not as she thought he would be and she seemed very sad about the
situation.However, after explaining the
negatives of what was wrong she told us that the lord will help her through and
keep her strong and that her health is in the lords hands since she had been
doing all she could do.Such faith and
compassion, this lady was great.

Nasif took us to talk about the differences between the U.S.
and South Africa and complimented the group on taking the leap to explore such
a different culture and allow ourselves to learn from others.He really put my whole trip into perspective
for me by saying that with everything he takes and learns he gives back.I swear I have never been more compelled to
help people and give back, which is an amazing feeling.

After our long discussion with Nasif we were taken by our
teacher to Red Cross Children’s Hospital which is regarded as one of the
leading public children’s hospitals (tertiary care) in South Africa. This quick visit made my day and was so
uplifting to see a public hospital with resources, organization and more
technology for the kids.Red Cross Children’s
was beautiful and closer to a hospital that we would see in America because of
the generous donations from both individuals and companies.

Hi, I'm Kylie- an undergraduate student studying Public Health and Philosophy at the University of Rochester- Health nut fanatic, self-proclaimed runner, closet nerd, sweet toothed baker and newly obsessed chef. I am also addicted to photography and travel. Join me in my journey through whatever comes my way in a day to day exploration of life and all the sweet moments it has to offer. Welcome to the world of Miscellanea.